URC: Ulster v Lions, Kingspan Stadium, Friday, 7.35pm – Live on TG4 and BBC 2
As good a time as any to meet the South African side, Ulster fresh from the taking of Munster’s scalp last week, face a team on the last leg of their tour with three defeats from four rounds. A last-gasp win over Scarlets in Llanelli last week saved Lions’ blushes from breaking out across the valleys.
Ulster have their captain and Rugby World Cup lock Iain Henderson for the first time this season partnering Alan O’Connor in their starting team in contrast to coach Ivan van Rooyen’s Lions squad, which does not feature a 2023 World Cup-winning player, although Springbok Willem ‘The Bone Collector’ Alberts enjoys his first start of the season.
Momentum and confidence should favour the home side, who again have a balanced look to their team. The backline of Stewart Moore, Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale is a powerful mixture of power, speed and inventiveness, with Hume at outside centre the creative spark.
Stockdale and his team-mates would have believed he deserved a place on the Irish World Cup squad and will draw some energy from proving the selectors wrong as thoughts in the new year will inevitably turn towards the Six Nations Championship. In fact, he has already started that process with an impressive four tries from three starts this season on the left wing.
McCloskey, who some said was a lucky World Cup pick, ended up playing in three matches, two warm-up games against Italy and Samoa and a bench run for 57 minutes in Ireland’s win over Scotland. He was aware of the critics.
“When I finally got a good taste of playing a string of [Ireland] games together, it was amazing and a great experience over the last 15 months,” said McCloskey. “I think I showed what I can do and maybe proved some of the doubters wrong. A lot of people said I couldn’t do it, so it was nice personally.
“Whether I will get back in there, I don’t know. Bundee [Aki] just got nominated for world player of the year. I probably won’t be doing it for too many more years, I’ve probably three or four more years left in me so every opportunity I get, I’d like to get out and play the game.”
Rob Herring, who played in five of Ireland’s World Cup matches including against Romania and Tonga in the pool phase, hooks between Andrew Warwick and last week’s debutant, academy prop Scott Wilson, who has been rewarded for an impressive shift off the bench against Munster.
Ulster are hoping to continue their unbeaten run at home, with wins against the Bulls and Munster at Kingspan Stadium. In fourth place on the URC table, just a point separates Ulster from the trio of current leaders on 15 points.
Zimbabwean blindside Dave Ewers, who previously played for Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates and is known for his destructive ball-carrying and defensive capabilities is joined by openside flanker and former Irish Under 20s captain Reuben Crothers, whose debut against Connacht ended early in injury.
The Lions know what they are up against with assistant coach Barend Pieterse looking for some steady heads in his side in what will be a full and partisan Ravenhill ground.
“The big thing that we spoke about during the past four weeks is more calmness when we get into the scoring zone,” he said. “Our work rate in general wasn’t what we wanted in the opening game, but if you look at the last game, every individual worked very hard, and it just came together for us.
“The guys know the environment that we are going into is harsh. The weather outside is cold, it’s raining, and the stadium will be sold out again, but everyone is ready for what we expect, and we just have to keep our basics simple. It doesn’t help against a classy team like Ulster if we start doing funny things like play from own try-line.”
Overall, Ulster make nine changes in personnel from the win over Munster, seven of those in the forwards with the Lions making two changes from their win over Scarlets. The home team are hoping this can be their year, not having won a trophy since their Celtic League triumph of 2006. Beating a team who have got off to a slow start to the season would be another positive step in that direction.
ULSTER: S Moore; R Baloucoune, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; J Flannery, N Doak; A Warwick, R Herring, S Wilson; A O’Connor, I Henderson (capt); D Ewers, R Crothers, D McCann.
Replacements: J Andrew, E O’Sullivan, M Moore, H Sheridan, L McLoughlin, J Cooney, B Burns, M Lowry.
LIONS: Q Horn; R Kriel, H van Wyk, M Louw (capt), E van der Merwe; S Nohamba, M van den Berg; C Fourie, PJ Botha, A Ntlabakanye; R Shoeman, W Alberts; H Sirgel, E Tshituka, F Horn.
Replacements: J Visagie, J P Smith, R Smith, R Delport, R Venter, JC Pretorious, J Hendrikse, R Maxwane.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy).
